Forest Ecology and Management
Today, perhaps more so than at any other time in human history, there are fewer and fewer
natural ecosystems that are not under one or the other form of human management. Some
ecosystems are managed actively (for example, the extraction of non-timber products that
constitute an important source of subsistence and cash livelihoods for forest-dependent
communities). Other ecosystems may be managed more passively (for example, the setting
aside of protected areas to conserve unique habitats). And still other ecosystems may be
managed quite inadvertently (for example, even relatively remote parts of the globe that
are being impacted, willy-nilly, by human-caused climate change or increased nitrogen
deposition). Any efforts at conservation must, therefore, be based on a sound understanding
of the effects of various human activities.
ATREE’s work in forest ecology lies at the interface of these dual conservation and management
concerns. Our research spans a range of spatial and temporal scales, from the demographics of
key non-timber species to long-term forest dynamics, and from the effects of anthropogenic
disturbance on specific plant-pollinator interactions, to responses of forest phenology to
long-term changing climatic patterns. The Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, and the
Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, two important protected areas in India’s
Western Ghats, have been long-standing foci of ATREE’s work in forest ecology. Increasingly,
our work is also moving to lands surrounding protected areas, as we recognize their
growing importance for biodiversity conservation, and for the provisioning of important
ecosystem goods and services to traditionally forest-dependent communities.
Projects
- Impact of anthropogenic disturbance on pollination and seed dispersal of canopy trees in
the wet evergreen forests of Western Ghats, India. more...
T.Ganesh
- Forest disturbance and pollination of a keystone species in the rainforest of Kalakad-Mundanthurai
Tiger Reserve, India. more...
Soubadra Devy and T.Ganesh
- A strategic action plan for the conservation of biological diversity in the Western Ghats. more...
R.Ganesan, M.Soubadra Devy and T.Ganesh
- Enumeration of large and medium sized mammals in selected forests of south-eastern Karnataka. more...
T.Ganesh
- Invasive species in Indian forests: experiments in restoring native biodiversity. more...
Ankila Hiremath
We are conducting experimental removals of lantana, an invasive shrub, as a means to a) understand
mechanisms underlying lantana’s success, and b) restore native vegetation, in deciduous forests of
the Biligiri Rangan Hills, Karnataka. This study is being carried out in partnership with the
Karnataka Forest Department.
- The effects of fire and grazing on forest regeneration in community-managed lands. more...
Bharath Sundaram and Ankila Hiremath
We are assessing the effects of management practices (for example annual fires to promote fodder
regeneration, and grazing by domestic livestock) on forest regeneration in restored revenue
wastelands, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, in partnership with the Foundation for Ecological Security.
- Species distributions in relation to soil resources. more...
Ankila Hiremath
We are looking at soil resources in relation to species distribution and dynamics in a 50 ha
long-term forest dynamics plot, Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu, in collaboration with R Sukumar
(Indian Institute of Science). This forms part of a larger collaborative effort with
J Dalling (U. Illinois), K Harms (U. Louisiana), and others, working in the Center
for Tropical Forest Science’s pan-tropical network of 50 ha plots.
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